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Behind the Scenes Archive
Science Fiction Friday: Harlan Ellison and the Lies That Are a Life
by February found itself without a Science Fiction Friday interview, but – fear not – I’ve an entertaining behind-the-scenes SFF story for you in this March installment. The last time we checked in Paolo Bacigalupi was opining on a possible future shaped by environmental irresponsibility and regaling me with a story about being tracked down by Harlan Ellison. The thought of the former becoming my reality seemed credible. The thought of the latter happening to me seemed a flight of my imagination. A flight of my imagination, that was, until my imagination crashed into the reality of Harlan tracking me down.
Attacking the Clones
Just when you thought the champion bulls that challenge the celebrated Spanish toreadors would only live on as namesakes for Italian sports cars, the biotech company ViaGen has stepped in to promise the “preserving and multiplying” of these superior genetic specimens for generations of bullfighters to come (and kill).
The Morning After
So last night WIRED Science had its wrap party and, from what I'm told, I was in attendance. You see, the night is a little fuzzy in my memory. To be honest, the world is a little fuzzy today. I am nursing a hangover that I could sell to science. It's got me thinking - what exactly is a hangover?
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A different kind of "behind the scenes"
by Teacher, public speaker, writer, lab rat...my job changes every day.
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How to become a Science Host, or Why I heart David Attenborough
by I'm often asked how one becomes a Science Host or Presenter, and as I got a lovely email from a viewer named Gabe requesting advice, I figured maybe I could offer a few thoughts through ye olde blog here.
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Viewer Comments! Episode 1
by Here is a delightful rant from a viewer in Washington, D.C. who
rightfully assumes that people on TV have no soul or feelings. I'll
address each segment:
Chris Hardwick needs to work on
presentation and language skills. When he's doing a walk-through on the
set reading the script, he's fine, but on the What's Inside and Hack
segments he's terrible.
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On the Importance of Flying Lizards
Virtual Paleontology was a segment that we had to fight to keep alive. Being that one of my failings is that I try to avoid conflict, this is a segment that could easily have gone the way of the dinosaur.
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Notes from the Underground
Experiment Cave is a segment that is close to my heart. Of course not literally, as we shot the thing more than a mile beneath the ground in Canada. And of course the heart is a metaphor for my ego. And ego is a metaphor for my consciousness. . . .okay, I'm boring even me.
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The Curious Case of Dr. Megavolt
This Wednesday, October 31st, while your offspring plop down on your living room floor after a long evening of Halloween pillaging and grow plump with high fructose corn syrup, I ask--nay, URGE--you to witness the awesome power of electricity taunter Dr. Megavolt on WIRED Science.
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We Don't Need Another Hero
RoboDoc is our segment about the Da Vinci Surgical System, and was selected for the obvious technophilic, Wiredness of it all. I mean, it's surgery with robots!
I could do the usual rant on the controls (motion scaling, tremor reduction, etc.) and provide a litany of superlatives regarding the robot's accomplishments (smallest patient, youngest patient, et al), but I want to tell you a story about the people involved. Here's what happened right before all that amazing footage of the Da Vinci in action was shot.
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The Making Of...
So I'm not a scientist and I've been feeling a little inadequate about it. To deal with the shame, I've devoted myself to making good, responsible television about them.
What I do here at WIRED Science is find and develop the ideas and stories that we turn into television and web content. Of course I don't do this on my own. There are a bunch of us working on this new project. It's a process. When things are going right, it's a creative process.
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